India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 campaign will begin against Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai as the governing body confirmed the schedule for the tournament on Tuesday.
Oman will take on Papua New Guinea in the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground on 17 October while the Super 12 stage commences with a fixture between Australia and South Africa at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The highly anticipated match between former champions India and Pakistan will take place on 24 October at the Dubai International Stadium while Ashes rivals England and Australia play at the same venue six days later.
The West Indies, the only side to win the tournament twice, will also feature on the opening day of the Super 12s as they kick off their defence of the title in Dubai against England, top ranked in the MRF ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings.
Sri Lanka, champions in 2014, and Bangladesh, Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands Oman, PNG and Scotland, feature in Round 1 of the 16-team tournament, being hosted by India in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman through to 14 November. The top two teams from each group of Round 1 will make it to the Super 12s.
Abu Dhabi will be the venue of the first semi-final on 10 November while the other semi-final (11 November) and the final (14 November) will be played in Dubai. All day matches are scheduled for 14h00 local time and the day-night matches are slated for 18h00 local time (+4 GMT).
Complete schedule (times in IST):
Round 1
17 Oct: Oman v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (1530 hrs); Bangladesh v Scotland, Muscat (1930 hrs)
18 Oct: Ireland v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (1530 hrs); Sri Lanka v Namibia, Abu Dhabi (1930 hrs)
19 Oct: Scotland v PNG, Muscat (1530 hrs); Oman v Bangladesh, Muscat (1930 hrs)
20 Oct: Namibia v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (1530 hrs); Sri Lanka v Ireland, Abu Dhabi (1930 hrs)
21 Oct: Bangladesh v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (1530 hrs); Oman v Scotland, Muscat (1930 hrs)
22 Oct: Namibia v Ireland, Sharjah (1530 hrs); Sri Lanka v Netherlands, Sharjah (1930 hrs)
Super 12s
23 Oct: Australia v South Africa, Abu Dhabi (1530 hrs); England v West Indies, Dubai (1930 hrs)
24 Oct: A1 v B2, Sharjah (1530 hrs); India v Pakistan, Dubai (1930 hrs)
25 Oct: Afghanistan v B1, Sharjah (1930 hrs)
26 Oct: South Africa v West Indies, Dubai (1530 hrs); Pakistan v New Zealand, Sharjah (1930 hrs)
27 Oct: England v B2, Abu Dhabi (1530 hrs); B1 v A2, Abu Dhabi (1930 hrs)
28 Oct: Australia v A1, Dubai (1530 hrs)
29 Oct: West Indies v B2, Sharjah (1530 hrs); Pakistan v Afghanistan, Dubai (1930 hrs)
30 Oct: South Africa v A1, Sharjah (1530 hrs); Australia v England, Dubai (1930 hrs)
31 Oct: Afghanistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (1530 hrs); India v New Zealand, Dubai (1930 hrs)
1 Nov: England v A1, Sharjah (1930 hrs)
2 Nov: South Africa v B2, Abu Dhabi (1530 hrs); Pakistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (1930 hrs)
3 Nov: New Zealand v B1, Dubai (1530 hrs); India v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (1930 hrs)
4 Nov: Australia v B2, Dubai (1530 hrs); West indies v A1, Abu Dhabi (1930 hrs)
5 Nov: New Zealand v A2, Sharjah (1530 hrs); India v B1, Dubai (1930 hrs)
6 Nov: Australia v West Indies, Abu Dhabi (1530 hrs); England v South Africa, Sharjah (1930 hrs)
7 Nov: New Zealand v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (1530 hrs): Pakistan v B1, Sharjah (1930 hrs)
8 Nov: India v A2, Dubai (1930 hrs)
Knock-out stage
10 Nov: Semi-final 1 (A1 v B2), Abu Dhabi (1930 hrs)
11 Nov: Semi-final 2 (B1 v A2), Dubai (1930 hrs)
14 Nov: Final, Dubai (1930 hrs)
While the BCCI is the official host of the tournament, the tournament was moved out of India. The venues for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 are Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground.
The groupings:
Round 1
Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and Namibia
Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman
Super 12s
Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1 and B2.
Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, A2 and B1.
